Court issues arrest warrant against Hasina in graft case

DHAKA

A Bangladeshi court has issued arrest warrants against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, her daughter Saima Wajed Putul, and 17 others in a corruption case. The case involves the illegal purchase of a residential plot in the Purbachal New City Housing Project near Dhaka.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge accepted a charge sheet filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), which accused Hasina and Putul of bypassing legal procedures to acquire the plot. The court acted after the accused failed to appear during the proceedings.

According to the ACC, Putul influenced her mother, then Prime Minister, to override state regulations managed by RAJUK, Bangladesh’s land authority. The ACC also stated that Putul’s family already owned properties in Dhaka, which made the land purchase invalid.

Putul currently works in New Delhi as WHO’s Southeast Asia regional director. The ACC is also probing Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana, and others over misuse of funds—worth 4,000 crore taka—during the 2020 "Mujib Centenary" event.

Hasina, who led Bangladesh for 16 years, was ousted in August 2024 after student protests. Now 77, she is believed to be living in India. Bangladesh’s interim government has requested her extradition, but India has not replied yet.

Hasina also faces charges for crimes against humanity, including mass killings and disappearances.